Brixham - streets, museum, trawling and ochre

Brixham

May 18, 2012

 

There was only enough time for a very quick visit to the museum. The people there were friendly but they didn't seem to know too much about the history of the town. They do have computers to access certain genealogy websites, the same as you could from home if you paid for a subscription.

I was looking for something on the Old George Hotel or Inn. Was the George Hotel a different one? No one in the museum knew. G-g-grandma's father, Samuel Tozer Sanders was the innkeeper of the Old George for several decades, possibly from 1822 until his death in 1867. He was also Harbour Master. It's a little amusing that one of his daughters who was to become a nun was listed in a census as barmaid when she was 35.

I took this picture for the name Pepperell, which could be connected to someone in our family. So could Mr. Sanders Lear for the name of Sanders. He apparently wrote a book: Official Guide to Brixham.

I just learned this about ochre:
Brixham is notable for being the town where the fishing trawler was improved in the 19th century...

...a mineral found in Brixham is ochre. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from sea water. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar, tallow and oak bark. The latter ingredient gave its name to the barking yards which were places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry. The ochre was also used to make a paint. This was invented in Brixham in about 1845 and was the first substance in the world that would stop cast iron from rusting. Other types of paint were made here as well, and the works were in existence until 1961.

I didn't dare miss the last bus from Brixham that would get me to Paignton and then back to Plymouth, so I started heading back, and left around 4:00 or 5:00 pm. This was a scene enroute.

I have a fondness for this tile store in Ivybridge as it was a handy landmark, one that I would see in passing many times. I would spend part of a day in Ivybridge for ancestry research.